Missoula Fly Fishing Report 9/1

August 31, 2024

Fly Fishing Report Brought To You By Our Missoula Fly Fishing Guides And Fly Shop Staff.
Enjoy and Good Luck!

Bitterroot River

The Bitterroot river fishing has been good over the last week with cooler temps and longer nights. All hoot owl restrictions have been lifted and you can now fish all day.
The upper is fishing a bit better later in the day with cooler water temps than the lower stretches.
The dry fly fishing has really picked up with the recent cool down. Hatches include Tricos, Hoppers and Hecubas.
Streamer fishing has also been good in the morning, and of course the dropper game will pick up fish throughout the day.
We’re excited for cooler and longer nights that are upon us right now and things are shaping up to be a really good September and October for us here in Missoula.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips for each hatch

Bitterroot Streamflow

Blackfoot River

The Blackfoot river fly fishing has been good over the last week and should continue to fish good throughout September. We’ve been experiencing below average temperatures this August and it has really improved all the rivers in the area, including the Blackfoot.
We’ve been mostly fishing dry fly terrestrials lately. Hoppers, Ants and Beetles have been the main game. These Terrestrials typically fish good through September, and October Caddis should be showing up in a few weeks.
We have also been getting some good fish on streamers throughout the day, and this should get better and better as fall approaches.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Blackfoot Streamflow

Clark Fork River

The Clark Fork river like the rest of our rivers, is starting to fish really good with the longer nights and cooler temperatures. Hoot Owl restrictions have been lifted on all stretches of the Clark Fork. So now you can fish all day long.
The dry fly fishing has really picked up with Tricos, Hoppers, and Hecubas on the lower stretches during overcast days.
The fishing should continue to get better throughout September and October.
Expect October Caddis, BWO’s and Mahogany hatches in a few weeks. For now focus more on Terrestrials and Tricos for the time being.
We have also started to have some decent action on streamers early morning.
Get ready for some great Fall fishing!

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Clark Fork Streamflow

Rock Creek

Rock Creek fishing has continued to produce and is only getting better every day with the cooler weather and shorter days.
The dry fly fishing has been good enough on most days to not have to throw a dropper on, but don’t hesitate to trail a nymph off the hopper during slow periods.
Hatches include Terrestrials like Hoppers, Ants and Beetles. Hoppers should continue to fish good throughout September and October Caddis along with a few BWO and Mahoganys should be coming in a few weeks as we head into fall.
The streamer fishing has also been decent throughout the day.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Rock Creek Streamflow

September Hatches

Click any photo below to find out more information on each individual hatch. Includes life cycle, best fly patterns, helpful tips and where to find these hatches in your Western Montana fly fishing adventure.

Best October Caddis Patterns

13 Tips For Fly Fishing Streamers

Bitterroot River

Missoula Fishing Report 8/19

August 19, 2024

Fly Fishing Report Brought To You By Our Missoula Fly Fishing Guides And Fly Shop Staff.
Enjoy and Good Luck!

Bitterroot River

The Bitterroot river fishing has been fishing good over the last week with longer and cooler nights, and some help from some recent rain storms.
Hoot Owl restrictions have been lifted on the lower from the confluence with the Clark Fork upstream to Veterans Bridge. We expect these restrictions to be lifted on the lower river by late this week or early next week if weather forecast stays true. We have some cooler weather headed our way towards the end of this week. The cooler weather and longer nights will make for some much better conditions moving forward.
The water temps on the lower will still be warm this week and still an early morning game and off the water early.
The upper is much different and has substantially cooler water temps.
Hatches right now include mostly terrestrials like Hoppers, Ants and Beetles. We are also seeing some Hecuba’s and Trico’s kicking around as well.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips for each hatch

Bitterroot Streamflow

Blackfoot River

The Blackfoot river fishing has been good lately with the cooler weather moving in and the longer nights that are improving water temperatures. Hoot Owl has been lifted for the whole Blackfoot river and you are now aloud to fish throughout the day.
Water temps are still getting a bit high in the afternoon on warm days, but this will improve a lot over the next week with another cold front moving in and much longer nights than we’ve seen over the last month.
The fishing will just get better and better from here on out for the rest of August and especially September.
It’s mainly a terrestrial game with Hoppers, Ants and Beetles.
The dry fly fishing has been good enough lately to not have to throw a dropper on most days.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Blackfoot Streamflow

Clark Fork River

The Clark Fork river like the rest of our rivers is improving day by day. With longer nights and cooler temps, the Clark Fork is fishing much better than the last month and is only going to get better with even cooler weather and longer nights coming over the next week or two.
Hoot Owl restrictions have been lifted on the lower river from the confluence of Rock Creek on down.
Restrictions are still in place from the mouth of Warm Springs down to the confluence of Rock Creek.
Dry fly fishing has been good with Terrestrials like Hoppers, Ants, Beetles. The Trico fishing in the morning has been good along with some Hecuab’s during the rainy days.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Clark Fork Streamflow

Rock Creek

Rock Creek fishing has been good lately and should keep getting better and better with the cooler temps and longer nights ahead. Hoot Owl has been lifted like many of the other river stretches around Missoula.
The dry fly fishing has been good with mainly terrestrials like Hoppers, Ants and Beetles.
Temperatures are still getting a bit high in the afternoon, so focus on the first half of the day this week. Cooler weather is in the forecast for the end of this week and fishing throughout the day should be better after this week, unless weather changes and warmer days come. But The longer nights should really help water temps cool down in the coming week.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Rock Creek Streamflow

August Hatches

Best Hopper Patterns

Best Goldenstone Patterns

Best Hecuba Patterns

Best Trico Patterns

Tips For Fishing Ants & Beetles

13 Tips For Fly Fishing Streamers

Fly Fishing Hot Topics

Missoula Creek Fly Fishing

July 19, 2024

It has become the norm, restrictions on our Western Montana rivers seem to occur every year. Once the major rivers hit a temperature or flow trigger, fishing is not allowed from 2 P.M. until midnight (“hoot-owl” restrictions). While this is an important management tool and the best thing for the resource, it can still leave anglers feeling like maybe they should take up golf. Unless you are able to get your boat on the water early in the morning, most float-fishing opportunities are not an option for those of us who have to work during the day. One option; lose the boat and explore one of the literally hundreds of small Missoula Creeks and tributaries within an hour’s driving distance of Missoula.

Any direction you decide to drive from Missoula, MT can get you to fantastic small-stream fishing. The Bitteroot offers a number of beautiful creeks that are easily accessible at trailheads and campgrounds throughout the valley. West of Missoula provides the exploring fly fisherman with a multitude of Clark’s Fork tributaries, many with roads that parallel them and provide miles and miles of accessible water. Travelling East will provide opportunities on the streams that feed the Blackfoot and Upper Clark’s Fork. You would need an entire summer to get to all the small streams within a seventy-five mile drive of Missoula.

The vast majority of these Missoula creeks are flowing double-digit degrees cooler than our major rivers. They are full of healthy fish that are willing to rise to dry-flies just about any time of day that you can sneak out. You will find most of these tributaries inhabited by west slope cutthroat. However, many also hold brookie s, browns and rainbows.

You are not likely to land the biggest trout of your season from one of these smaller Western Montana creeks, however you may be surprised at how a 14 inch cutty can hide in a 2 foot-wide plunge pool. Most of these streams have populations that will average 6 to 10 inches. Fish that you would probably row by if you saw them feeding on the Blackfoot. You will have to adjust your idea of “big fish” if all you ever do is float the big water. It won’t take long. Once you get started, a 10 incher from a tight spot from one of the streams carved out of the bedrock in the Bitteroot can be every bit as rewarding as a 20 incher sipping a BWO on the Lower Clark Fork.

Rod manufacturers have aided in making small streams more entertaining by building rods specifically for creek fishing. While you can certainly fish tribs with the 5 or 6 weight rod that you use for the big water, using these lighter-weight sticks can make it a totally different experience. My own personal creek rod is a Douglas Upstream in a three-weight, measuring 7 foot three inches. This rod loads great for short casts and even a hack like myself can drop a dry on a dime at the distances needed for fishing Missoula Creeks. There are a number of options both graphite and fiberglass made specifically for the type of fishing these small streams offer. Many people opt for shorter rods for easy maneuvering in the tight spaces these streams present. However, longer rods work just fine. If you are looking to add a new rod to your collection, a four-weight in 81/2 to 9 feet would provide you with not only a nice small stream rod, but one that will delicately present the tricos and olives that appear in the fall on our major rivers. Again, you do not need special equipment for small streams, but it can make an eight-inch fish a lot more fun.

Their willingness to rise to dries often results in cutties being called “stupid”. I like to call them opportunistic. Most of the small streams in the Missoula area are not as rich in insect life as our larger waters. This means that the fish depend much more on terrestrials than their kin in the bigger streams. The multitude of smaller foam patterns that have populated fly shop bins the last few years has been great for small stream fishermen. I like the stubby chubbies, micro chubbies, small water walkers, and smaller hoppers. The primary concern is not imitation, rather floatability and durability. Most of my days on small creeks are one fly days. Pick something that will float and take a beating.

As far as tactics for small streams, it’s real simple, most any place that has enough water to hold a fish will hold fish.

Part of the allure of the Missoula Creeks is the solitude. You will very rarely run into other anglers on most of the water I have talked about. I tend to be more secretive when it comes to Montana’s small-streams than I am about what I find on the major rivers. I have purposely not named any of these streams. Part of the fun of fishing the small streams here in Western Montana is getting out and exploring. Pull out a map, any blue line that you find will provide hours of enjoyment when the big water is warm and low.

Best Small Stream Fly Patterns

Missoula Fishing Report 7/8

July 8, 2024

Fly Fishing Report Brought To You By Our Missoula Fly Fishing Guides And Fly Shop Staff.
Enjoy and Good Luck!

Bitterroot River

The Bitterroot river fishing has been good over the last few weeks with plenty of bugs and good water temperatures. The water will warm up with this week as warmer weather moves in, especially on the lower end. The upper stretches will stay much cooler than the lower and is a better option for fishing throughout the day and the lower will be better fished during the first half of the day.
We’ve been seeing good hatches of Golden Stones, Yellow Sallies, PMD’s and even some early Hopper and Trico action.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips for each hatch

Bitterroot Streamflow

Blackfoot River

The Blackfoot river fishing has been good in the morning and slowing down throughout the afternoon. Get on early and off mid-day for best fishing.
There’s still Golden Stones hatching along with Yellow Sallies, PMD’s and we’re starting to see fish eat hoppers as well.
The streamer fishing continues to produce big fish, but the streamer fishing slows down into the second half of the day.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Blackfoot Streamflow

Clark Fork River

The Clark Fork river continues to fish good on the lower, while the upper end is a little tougher fishing lately. We’ve been seeing good hatches of PMD’s, Yellow Sallies, Golden Stones, and a few Tricos. The hopper fishing is just getting started and should continue to get better. Like the rest of our rivers, get out early and off by mid day to beat the heat. While our big rivers are starting to get warm in the afternoon, the smaller tributaries are a good choice in the afternoon as temperatures heat up. These tributaries around Missoula stay much cooler.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Clark Fork Streamflow

Rock Creek

Rock Creek fishing continues to produce some great fishing. Water temperatures are still good and the fishing remains good all day, but the best fishing will be had in the first half of the day. Pick your poison for how you want to catch fish from dry fly to nymph to streamers, it’s all been fishing good up here.
For hatches, focus on Golden Stones, Yellow Sallies, PMD’s and hoppers.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Rock Creek Streamflow

July Hatches

Best Hopper Patterns

Best Goldenstone Patterns

Yellow Sally Overview

Best Trico Patterns

Best PMD Patterns

13 Tips For Fly Fishing Streamers

Bitterroot River

Missoula Fishing Report 6/14

June 14, 2024

Fly Fishing Report Brought To You By Our Missoula Fly Fishing Guides And Fly Shop Staff.
Enjoy and Good Luck!

Bitterroot River

The Bitterroot river is starting to fish better by day. The upper stretches are still fishing the best with Salmonflies, Golden Stones, Yellow Sallies, PMD’s and Green drakes.
We still haven’t seen good numbers of bigger bugs on the middle and lower river yet. The Clarity is decent on the middle and upper and the nymphing and streamer fishing is picking up.
We’ll keep you posted on the rest of the river as it shapes up. Until then, focus your time on the upper reaches.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips for each hatch

Bitterroot Streamflow

Blackfoot River

The Blackfoot river has continued to produce some great fishing days. Salmonflies have been hatching throughout the entire length of the river, although the bottom stretches are turning over to more Golden Stones.
This weekends weather is calling for more clouds and rain than sun, so have your Green Drake patterns ready to throw.
While fish on the Blackfoot will still eat the Salmon and Golden throughout the cold snap, the Green Drake fishing can be great up there in the clouds.
The streamer fishing should also be fantastic on the Blackfoot during the this cold front.
They’re calling for a lot of snow in the mountains coming, along with rain in the lower elevations. We’ll see how this affects the flow after this weekend.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Blackfoot Streamflow

Clark Fork River

The Clark Fork river has started to produce some good dry fly fishing over the last week. Be ready for some great Green Drake hatches coming with the cloudy weather. While the Salmonfly and Golden Stones get the most attention this time of year, The Green Drake dry fly fishing can be as good or better than the stoneflies, especially during the cloudy weather.
We’ve been seeing Salmonflies, Golden Stones, Yellow Sallies, PMD’s and Green Drakes over the last week.
Like the rest of our rivers, keep streamers in mind on these colder days coming, they can be incredibly affective this time of year during the darker days.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Clark Fork Streamflow

Rock Creek

Rock Creek fishing continued to be great dry fly fishing with Salmonflies, Golden Stones, Yellow Sallies and Green Drakes. The Salmon Flies are thickest on the upper stretches while the Golden Stones are dominating the lower stretches. Plenty of Golden stones on the upper stretches as well. Keep some Green Drakes handy for this weekend during the cold snap.
We’ll see what happens with the forecast as lots of snow is expected in the high elevation. We could see a bump in flows after the rain and snow this weekend.
We’ll keep you posted.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Rock Creek Streamflow

June/July Hatches

Best Salmonfly Patterns

Best Goldenstone Patterns

Yellow Sally Overview

Best Green Drake Patterns

Best PMD Patterns

13 Tips For Fly Fishing Streamers

Bitterroot River

Missoula Fishing Report 6/10

June 8, 2024

Fly Fishing Report Brought To You By Our Missoula Fly Fishing Guides And Fly Shop Staff.
Enjoy and Good Luck!

Bitterroot River

The Bitterroot river is slowly coming into play. More so on the upper stretches and in to the West and East Fork with Salmonflies, Golden Stones, Yellow Sallies in the sun and Green Drakes in the Clouds. The middle and lower stretches have seen some Goldens, Yellow Sallies and Green drakes, but the water is still moving quickly and we haven’t seen a lot of bugs hatching yet. This should change soon with the flows coming down and water temps rising.
Be prepared with Golden Stone, Yellow Sallies and Green Drake dries on the mainstem in the coming weeks. For now, be prepared to throw more nymphs and streamers than dries until the bugs show up.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips for each hatch

Bitterroot Streamflow

Blackfoot River

The Blackfoot river has has been good over the last few days with lots of Salmonflies and Golden Stones hatching throughout the river. The dry fly fishing has been good and should just get better. We’ve been throwing single dries throughout the day, but don’t hesitate to throw on a dropper during slow periods of the day.
We have also had some really good streamer days with brighter color streamers in the sun. With the water temperatures right now, you can use a fairly fast retrieve tight to the bank and swinging through the run.
Be prepared with Salmonfly dries and Golden Stones in the coming week.
The Blackfoot is pretty hard to beat right now for dry fly fishing, but to be honest all of the rivers and tributaries are coming into shape and should fish good from here on out.

Check out this link here for some great tips on fishing the Salmonfly hatch

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Blackfoot Streamflow

Clark Fork River

The Clark Fork river clarity has improved a lot over the last few days and fishing is starting to improve. We’ve been seeing a few Salmonflies, Goldens, Sallies and Green drakes popping, and that should continue in the coming weeks.
We’ve been having better luck on the dropper game lately, so don’t hesitate to put on a big Salmon or Golden dry and drop a nymph off the back.
Streamer fishing has been consistent and it’s the time of year to pull some really big fish out on streamers with heavier sink tips.
We’ll keep you posted as the hatches continue to improve.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Clark Fork Streamflow

Rock Creek

Rock Creek fishing been awesome over the last week and no signs of slowing down. The Salmonfly hatch is thickest on the middle to upper sections with less of them on the lower, but still some and the fish are still eating them well on the lower end. As the Salmonfly hatch progresses upstream, the Goldens follow, so be ready to fish Golden Stone dries if you’re not seeing many adult Salmonflies around. If the clouds come, have some Green Drake dries ready to throw.
There typically is no reason to throw anything but dry flies this time on Rock Creek.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for additional fly patterns and tips!

Rock Creek Streamflow

June/July Hatches

Best Salmonfly Patterns

Best Goldenstone Patterns

Yellow Sally Overview

Best Green Drake Patterns

Best PMD Patterns

13 Tips For Fly Fishing Streamers

Tag: Montana Fly Fishing

Bitterroot River

Blackfoot River

Clark Fork River

Rock Creek

September Hatches

Bitterroot River

Blackfoot River

Clark Fork River

Rock Creek

August Hatches

Best Small Stream Fly Patterns

Stubby Chubby

Purple Haze

Royal Wulff

Hippie Stomper Purple

Micro Chubby Gold

Micro Water Walker Royal

Fire Starter

G Kes

Duracell

Henry’s Fork Golden

Chubby Chernobyl – Gold

Pre-Loaded Montana Fly Box

Bitterroot River

Blackfoot River

Clark Fork River

Rock Creek

July Hatches

Bitterroot River

Blackfoot River

Clark Fork River

Rock Creek

June/July Hatches

Bitterroot River

Blackfoot River

Clark Fork River

Rock Creek

June/July Hatches